THE DEPARTMENT OF Housing has deleted a video featuring advice to young people on moving back in with their parents from its social media channels after “negative online commentary”.

On Saturday, the Department’s social media accounts posted a video with the caption:

“Moving back in with family after living out of home can take some time to get used to. It’s okay to need & ask for support.”

In the video, two young people offer advice to anyone moving back in with their parents. 

Among the advice offered in the video was for young people to “help out around the house” by agreeing to take on some “household chores”.

One person in the video says “not only will it lighten the workload for your family, but it will also help you feel more independent”.

Social Democrats TD housing spokesperson Rory Hearne likened it to a Waterford Whispers sketch while Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan said the tone of the video “is terrible”. 

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin described it as “a very bad joke”. 

The Minister for Housing James Browne today said it was “misconceived” for his department to share the video on social media.

Browne noted that the video had been prepared by Spunout, a youth information and support platform, and that the Department of Housing had no involvement in it.

“An official in the Department of Housing was well intentioned, maybe misconceived, seen what young people in Spunout were doing and reposted it,” said Browne at the Housing Committee this afternoon.

In a statement to The Journal, a department spokesperson said it had removed the video from its X account featuring campaign content from Spunout and The Housing Agency “after feedback from the young people themselves”.

The spokesperson added that “recent online commentary relating to the digital campaign series that featured young people has been negative”.

They remarked that the “welfare, privacy, and dignity of the young people involved in the campaign must be our highest priority and have removed the videos from our channels at the young people’s request”.

“The Department is committed to creating a safe and supportive environment for young people to use their voices on the issues that matter to them – without fear of negative or harmful responses.

“It is critical that young voices are respected in the conversation around housing and homelessness in Ireland.”